Captured (A Modern Medusa Story)

CHAPTER 28: AVERISTA♥️

I left Dativa's place in a haste.

I shouted a goodbye but left without her response because, well, she never gave me a response.

I ignored the driver's warnings about the packed entrance, the need for a special invitation card, and the parking being reserved only for VVVIPs, and took a cab to the Marina Regency hotel.

I simply dropped off by the side of the road and made my way to the main gate.

When I walked through, a guard called me to a stop.

I sighed.

"Your invitation card, Miss?" he asked.

But before I could answer, a voice intervened.

"She's with me," a guy in a black suit nodded at the guard, placing an arm on my shoulder. Who knew where he came from or even what was going on? The guy helped me inside with no explanation.

He walked me all the way to the hotel's main entrance.

"Conference room back stage door. Miss McQuinn left those instructions for you."

He finally spoke. And then he left me alone.

Miss McQuinn.

It felt a little weird hearing someone address her like that. I wasn't used to it.

And who the hell was he, her new bodyguard?

I made my way through the corridor, reading on the titles on top of every door frame I passed. Hands deep in the pockets of my leather jacket while my mind scripting out an apology for the blue-eyed beauty.

This was my chance, and I didn't want to screw it up.

And then I saw it.

The conference room back stage.

I pushed the door open and slipped in.
It introduced me to a set of hallways. Confused on where to go, but made steps forward, only to feel a soft hand grabbing mine and pulling me to the side. I almost screamed, but then my eyes met Phoebe's and I let out a heavy breath.

"Fuck. Phoebe-You freaking scared me!"

She laughed, as if this was the funniest thing ever. For a second, I almost drowned, lost in her smile and never came back.

How did she even know it was me? Once again, her sense of smell mortified me.

"I miss this," she stated when she finally calmed down.

She looked even better in real life than she did on screen.

The dress fit her so beautifully, hugging at all the right places and tracing her delicate figure in ways that had my mind rivet with thoughts that I didn't know I could have.

"Miss what?" I tried to play cool, shooing away all the inappropriate thoughts.

"The smell. Wildflowers." She smiled when she said that.

I forgot how to speak, mesmerized by her.

My thoughts were getting ahead of me and all I needed was a way out.

I wanted to kiss her.
I also wanted to do something more than that.

I couldn't breathe. Her presence was too overwhelming, and it was evoking feelings in my body that were better left hidden and unsaid.

Heavy silence. That's all that I could give her as I stood there staring at her and she staring dead back at me.

I wanted to touch her. I wanted to put my lips on her skin so badly.

Lord, what happened to that apology essay I prepared? I felt like somebody was cutting down the wires in my brain and all it allowed me to think of was how Phoebe's nipples protruded through that silk and how her lips looked edible enough to bring back the appetite I thought I lost.

When I opened my mouth to cover the silence, she gently pushed me back against the wall.

I took in a deep breath.

Phoebe's hand was on the wall right next to my face, and the other, on my chest.

"Phoebe . . . "

She moved forward, and my body tensed, leaving me questioning whether I could survive through this proximity.

"I-I'm sorry." I marked.

The apology turned out to be more than I expected. I was more sorry for thinking of her this way and ogling her body without her knowledge. I felt so guilty.

"For what?" Her voice, low and soft but intimidating.

"About what happened that day. About my mom. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide that I was your nanny's daughter, and it wasn't meant to be a secret. I was going to tell you eventually, but I-"

She kissed me.

I felt like the world was spinning me around and I couldn't figure out what to do to stop it.

Was this what she called me here to do? To drive me insane? To tempt me?

"There's nothing to be sorry about," she held onto my shoulders while I struggled to level my breathing. "It's okay, I understand."

As if I wasn't weak already, Phoebe pressed herself even closer to me and kissed me again.

At least this time, I could kiss her back.

When she didn't let go, I gripped onto her hips, on the sides of her dress. She eased into the kiss and so did I. I pulled her to me and kissed her the way I always dreamed of kissing her.

Then she pulled away, and I immediately missed the heat that her body radiated into me.

"I like you," she confessed. "I really really really like you, Wildflowers. I like you to the point that it makes me scared."

I moved the hair out of her face and traced her bottom lip with the tip of my thumb, my eyes not looking anywhere else.

"Scared of what?"

Phoebe took her time, as if digesting my question and trying to find the courage to voice out her next words.

"I love you."

That was it.

That was all I needed to hear.

Next thing I was the one backing her up against the wall and kissing the life out of her.